Everyone has the right to work in an environment free from bullying and harassment, and to be treated with dignity and respect. Our Dignity at Work Policy applies to everyone working for us, with us or on our behalf in any capacity, including employees, directors, freelancers, agency workers, interns, work-experience students, agents, contractors, external consultants, our distributed publishers, third-party representatives and museum partners.
Each of us at T&H has a duty to respect our colleagues and those we work with and to promote and support a working environment free from bullying, harassment, intimidation, threatening behaviour, improper language and conduct.
Everyone at T&H, whatever their role, has a personal responsibility to adhere to this policy. We view breaches of this policy by employees as potentially serious disciplinary matters that may result in us invoking our Disciplinary Procedure. Depending on the circumstances, a breach may amount to gross misconduct, which could result in summary dismissal.
This policy covers bullying and harassment both in the workplace and in settings outside the workplace, such as on business trips or at work-related events or social functions, whether on T&H premises or not. In circumstances where an alleged perpetrator is not an employee, we will decide the appropriate response, but we will not tolerate behaviour that breaches this policy.
We oppose any form of bullying and harassment directed at anyone on any of the following grounds (the protected characteristics) or otherwise:
- Age;
- Disability;
- Sex;
- Sexual orientation;
- Gender Reassignment;
- Disability;
- Marital / Civil partnership status;
- Pregnancy / maternity;
- Race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin;
- Religion of belief;
- Trade union membership (or lack of it); and/or
- Association with any of the above.
Harassment may involve conduct of a sexual nature (sexual harassment) or it may be related to these protected characteristics.
What is bullying and harassment?
For this policy to work effectively, we need to be sure everyone is clear about what is meant by bullying and harassment.
a) Bullying
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority, but can include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation.
Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct and may include, by way of example:
- Shouting at, being sarcastic towards, ridiculing or demeaning others;
- Physical or psychological threats;
- Overbearing and intimidating levels of supervision;
- Inappropriate and/or derogatory remarks about someone’s appearance or performance;
- Abuse of authority or power by those in positions of seniority; and/or
- Deliberately excluding someone from meetings or communications without good reason.
Legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of someone’s performance or conduct, or reasonable instructions given to someone in the course of their employment, will not amount to bullying.
Cyberbullying is specifically dealt with in our Cyberbullying Policy as part of our IT Policies, but the policies and procedures set out here equally apply to this form of bullying.
b) Harassment
Harassment, in general terms, is unwanted conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment.
Harassment also includes treating someone less favourably because they have submitted or refused to submit to such behaviour in the past.
Harassment may take many different forms. It may be physical, verbal or non-verbal, and may include telephone calls, text messages, messages via Facebook or Twitter or other social media, email, jokes or gestures. Actions or comments that you may consider to be harmless or humorous may not be viewed by the recipient in the same light. The recipient might view such behaviour as demeaning and degrading.
Harassment may include, by way of example:
- Insults, offensive, derogatory or patronizing comments,
name calling , mimicry, mocking, belittling, ridicule, gestures, pranks or jokes; - Unwelcome sexual attention, advances, suggestive
behaviour or unwanted physical contact; -
Threat of dismissal or loss of promotion; - Requests for sexual
favours ; - Offensive emails, text messages or social media content;
- Lewd, suggestive or over-familiar
behaviour , comments or innuendoes; - Display or circulation of material that is offensive. This may include pin-ups, magazines, leaflets and/or comics;
- Threats of or actual violence;
- Verbal abuse;
- Exclusion from conversations or activities;
- Refusal to work with or co-operate with people;
- Unfair allocation of work or implementing unfair standards;
- Incitement of others to harassment; and/or
- Provocative behaviour such as the wearing of discriminatory badges or insignia.
Harassment may relate to one or more of the protected characteristics or be unconnected to them.
Harassment can be persistent and repeated and may continue after the person subjected to it makes it clear they want it to stop. However, a single instance may also constitute harassment if it is sufficiently serious.
A person may be harassed even if they were not the intended target. For example, a person may be harassed by racist jokes about a different ethnic group if the jokes create an offensive environment.
Policy principles
- We expect everyone who works for or at T&H to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that does not nor is likely to constitute bullying or harassment.
- We expect our directors and managers to set an example by their own behaviour of how to properly conduct themselves in the office and to act promptly on any complaints of bullying or harassment.
- We do not permit the display of any material that could be viewed as offensive or discriminatory and we reserve the right to remove it.
- When determining if someone has been bullied or harassed, it is not the intention of the alleged perpetrator, but their conduct and its impact (intentional or not) on the recipient that is in question. So what matters is how the behaviour is perceived, not whether it was intended to cause upset. What is acceptable conduct to one person may not be to others. Most of us enjoy a friendly and sociable office, but we must remember that everyone is different, to be sensitive to others and ultimately to take responsibility for our own behaviour and conduct at work.
- Our primary aim is to prevent bullying and harassment and, wherever possible, in the first instance, every effort will be made to resolve a situation on an informal basis as set out below. However, we recognize that some incidents are so serious that they may warrant a complaint under the principles in our Grievance Procedure or require investigation under our Disciplinary Procedure. These procedures relate to employees. If an alleged perpetrator is not an employee we will decide the appropriate action to take against them in the circumstances of the case.
- If you feel you have a complaint, in the first instance we would encourage you to discuss it with your Line Manager. However, we understand that in some instances it may be your Line Manager who is the problem and it may be more appropriate to raise the issue with your Head of Department or our Head of HR. In any event, all complaints whether of bullying or harassment must be notified to HR.
- When a complaint of bullying or harassment is brought to the attention of a manager at any level, whether informally or formally, prompt action will be taken to investigate the matter. We will consider what steps are necessary to manage the ongoing relationship between the complainant and the alleged perpetrator during the investigation.
- All matters relating to the investigation of complaints of bullying or harassment will be treated confidentially. Details of the investigation, the name of the person making the complaint and the alleged perpetrator will only be disclosed to other members of staff on a need-to-know basis. Everyone involved in the operation of this policy, whether making a complaint or involved in any investigation, is responsible for observing the highest levels of propriety and confidentiality. Any breach of confidentiality in this respect may render those responsible liable to disciplinary action. However, it will be necessary that the alleged perpetrator accused of bullying or harassment is made aware of the allegations against them and the name(s) of the complainant(s) together with the name(s) of any witnesses.
- You will not be victimized or suffer detriment for making a complaint of bullying or harassment in good faith or for participating in any investigation, and no manager shall threaten either explicitly or implicitly that your complaint will be used as the basis for decisions affecting you. Such conduct will be treated as a serious disciplinary matter. Managers are also required to act on any complaint of bullying or harassment and failure to do so will also be regarded as a disciplinary matter.
- Once an investigation is complete, both the complainant and the alleged perpetrator will be informed of our decision. If we consider you have been harassed or bullied by an employee, such behaviour will be treated as either misconduct or gross misconduct, depending on the seriousness of the offence, and will result in the application of our Disciplinary Procedure. If the perpetrator is not an employee of T&H, we will consider what action would be appropriate to deal with the problem. Whether or not your complaint is upheld, we will consider how best to manage any ongoing working relationship between you and the person concerned.
- We take all allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously. However, if we decide after investigation that an allegation has been made frivolously, maliciously or in bad faith, disciplinary action may be taken against the individual who has made the allegation.
Procedures for complaints
If you believe that you are being bullied or harassed, we would encourage you to take action. Doing nothing and hoping that the problem will go away is rarely effective. The person involved is unlikely to stop and may conduct themselves in the same manner towards other people.
We understand that such matters may be sensitive and stressful. If you are uncertain whether an incident or series of incidents amount to bullying or harassment, or feel you need advice and assistance on how to handle a situation that has
(a) Informal procedure
Sometimes informal action will nip any unwanted behaviour in the bud. Sometimes people are simply not aware that their behaviour is unwelcome or wrong. An informal discussion may lead to a greater understanding of the impact of certain behaviour and agreement that it will cease or some other appropriate arrangement. This informal approach will not necessarily result in any formal internal investigation or disciplinary action, but aims to enable you to resolve the matter without it going any further.
If you feel able to do so, you are therefore encouraged to try to resolve the problem informally. This may take the form of confronting the person yourself or in the company of a colleague or our Head of HR, or asking your Line Manager, Head of Department or Head of HR to do so on your behalf. It should be made clear to the person concerned that their actions are unwanted, make you feel uncomfortable and should not be repeated. This may be done verbally or in writing, in which case you should keep a copy of the documentation and, where possible, the times and dates of incidents should be recorded.
An individual who is made aware that their
- Listen carefully to the complaints and the particular concerns raised
- Respect the other person’s point of view;
- Understand and acknowledge that it is the other person’s reaction/perception to their behaviour that is important;
- Agree on the aspects of their behaviour that will change; and
- Review their general conduct/behaviour at work and with workplace colleagues and contacts.
Such informal procedure may be sufficient to resolve the matter. If so, a record will be kept on the employment files of both the complainant and perpetrator, but no formal disciplinary action will be taken. However, the company reserves the right to take formal disciplinary action if it deems it necessary to do so at any stage.
If such informal procedure is inappropriate or has been unsuccessful, you may decide to follow the formal procedure set out below.
(b) Formal process
If you wish to make a formal complaint about bullying or harassment, this should be done under our Grievance Procedure.
If the decision reached during the initial grievance meeting or on appeal is that there are reasonable grounds to believe that harassment or bullying has taken place by an employee, the matter will be dealt with under our Disciplinary Procedure. In such case, you may be required to provide written or oral evidence for a disciplinary hearing.
Records
Information about a complaint by or about an employee may be placed on the employee’s HR file, along with a record of the outcome and of any notes or other documents compiled during the process.
Where the matter proceeds to a disciplinary hearing, the retention of records will be in line with our Disciplinary Procedure.
If you have a question on any aspect of our Dignity at Work (Anti-Bullying & Harassment) Policy please ask our Head of HR.
Last updated: 07/03/19
